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Mr Blair has previously praised the Muslim faith as 'beautiful' and said the Prophet Mohammed had been 'an enormously civilizing force'.

In 2006 he said the Koran was a 'reforming book, it is inclusive. It extols science and knowledge and abhors superstition. It is practical and way ahead of its time in attitudes to marriage, women and governance'.

But Mr Blair has also faced the devastation wreaked by violent jihadists who interpret the Koran as a call to arms.

Mr Blair said reading the Islamic religion's holy book - considered by Muslims to be the exact words of God - ensured he remained 'faith-literate'

He was Prime Minister when the July 7 suicide bombers attacked London in 2005, murdering 52 innocent people.

Not only does reading the Koran support his peace envoy role, it also gives him something in common with sister-in-law Lauren Booth.

Journalist Miss Booth - Cherie Blair's half sister - raised eyebrows after announcing last October that she had converted to Islam after what she described as a 'holy experience' during a visit to a shrine in Iran.

Mr Blair also used the Observer interview to dismiss claims he was on a Christian 'crusade' when taking Britain into the highly divisive war in Iraq.

His former constituency agent John Burton said two years ago that Mr Blair 'believed strongly at the time, that intervention in Kosovo, Sierra Leone – Iraq too – was all part of the Christian battle; good should triumph over evil, making lives better.'

But the ex-Premier said: 'People still ask me if military decisions in Iraq or Afghanistan were based on some kind of divine instruction. It's rubbish.'Of course not. Just as I couldn't go into a corner and pray to ask God what the minimum wage should be.'

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